The Trace in Harry Potter
by GetWithIt
Summary: The Trace is somewhat fickle and never really explained clearly. This is how I interpret it and how I'd like you to look at it if you ever read any of my HP stories. Hope it makes sense!:)


MY EXPLANATION FOR THE TRACE IN THE WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!

1.) Okay, so first off, I believe that there is a nationwide (possibly in other nations too – but their ministries would handle that) charm that detects magic used on or around underage wizards from birth. How, you ask? Simple. Once upon a time either someone really powerful or a group of really powerful witches and wizards (*cough*founders*cough*) laid down the enchantment to cover the entirety of Britain. _**Note: **__I'm also choosing to believe the Trace is in no way applied to the wand, just the individual in question._

2.) Why don't kids get in trouble before the age of eleven (think about Severus and Lily talking in Penseive memories)? Also simple. Somewhere in the underage magic office the type of magic used is recorded and dismissed if inconsequential (and most children's magic is) or they send obliviators if it could lead to the discovery of the magical world. Anything below eleven is considered accidental and not their fault as they've had no proper training. Harry's muggle relatives are supposed to know so they aren't ever obliviated. They also might choose not to obliviate the parents for most things since they'll find out eventually anyway and it would be excellent proof when convincing them to send their kids to magic boarding school.

3.) What about mentions of how they can't tell who uses magic in wizarding homes? This is explainable as well. Since the trace detects magic around an individual the magical signatures of adults could a.) Interfere with the trace and make it not send information to the ministry or b.) Make it so the ministry just dismisses the magic since it could be the work of the adult nearby – it's not as big a deal since the Trace is mostly to protect wizards from muggle detection. Why don't the Weasley kids use magic at home then? Probably because they have law-abiding parents who are willing to punish their children. Other wizarding families might allow it occasionally, but I find it hard to believe that they would want some half trained kid experimenting in their home when it could result in blowing them or something valuable to smithereens. _**Note: **__To clarify, I'm operating under option A._

4.) What about Tom Riddle and how he killed his father's family at sixteen? Well Dumbledore says that Morfin's presence played a role so that just backs up my signature theory. As for the magic used in killing the Riddles… didn't Tom use Morfin's wand so that he could frame him? Maybe the wand of a wizard carries their signature enough to trick the Trace. Maybe (if instead you're operating under option B from above) the ministry officials had something showing '_Underage Tom Riddle was around magic, but there's an adult nearby so it's probably nothing_' and they didn't probe farther. Who can really know? Anyway, that's what I'm sticking with.

5.) Let's say a kid from a wizarding family were out in muggle London with no adult wizards around, would they get caught? Yes. I'm choosing to believe the Trace on an underage witch or wizard has some capability of detecting magical adult signatures in the vicinity and thus not going off. Without an adult, there would be nothing to stop the Trace from working. It would explain the magic used not implicating Harry when the order picked him up, in Dumbledore's apparition, and the night of the seven potters.

6.) Why is it that Harry got in trouble for Dobby's magic? Dobby is not an adult wizard, he is not even a wizard at all. Therefore, nothing interfered with the Trace. That, or Dobby is a sneaky little elf and could manipulate the Trace as he somehow does all sorts of otherwise impossible things.

7.) Last but not least, what about Hogwarts and the Hogwarts Express? I've got this. Hogwarts has thousand year old wards and enchantments that can block a silly little Trace from getting back to the ministry. The train falls under Hogwarts jurisdiction and gets the same deal. It would be silly if kids got in trouble when they were _supposed _to do magic. Or the Trace is merely inactive during the school year so anything done from September 1st on is a-okay! For home schooled kids I'm going to assume the presence of a tutor would disrupt the Trace so that they'd only get in trouble when doing magic unsupervised.


End file.
